The Anti-Defamation League, the storied antisemitism watchdog and civil rights organization, is facing backlash after it defended billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk shortly after a video of him gesturing in a manner similar to a Nazi salute circulated across social media.
Musk made the gesture after he took to the stage at Capital One Arena in Washington on Monday to praise Donald Trump’s inauguration. He made the first gesture after thanking Trump fans for the support, then the 53-year-old, who Trump has tasked to lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in his new administration, turned around repeated it to the crowd behind him.
The move immediately drew online comparisons to a Nazi salute.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was among those to defend Musk, asking to give him the “benefit of the doubt.”
“It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge,” the organization said in a post on X, the social media site that Musk purchased for $44 billion in 2022.
“In this moment, all sides should give one another a bit of grace, perhaps even the benefit of the doubt, and take a breath. This is a new beginning. Let’s hope for healing and work toward unity in the months and years ahead.”
Musk, for his part, responded to the organization with a short thank you and a crying/laughing emoji.
Musk has a rough history with the ADL, who has been critical of the tech billionaire over hate speech regulations on his social platform, X. Musk fought back in 2023 with a lawsuit against the ADL, which CEO Jonathan Greenblatt described at the time as “flat out dangerous and deeply irresponsible.”
Not all were so impressed with the ADL defending Musk Monday.
Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the ADL for, as she put it, “defending a Heil Hitler salute that was performed and repeated for emphasis and clarity. People can officially stop listening to you as any sort of reputable source of information now. You work for them. Thank you for making that crystal clear to all.”
Musk responded to that message, saying Ocasio-Cortez “has reached Stage 5 [Trump Derangement Syndrome] – fully unhinged” and claimed “she has just 100% lost her marbles.”
Mehdi Hassan, founder and editor-in-chief of Zeteo News, was also unimpressed.
Trump has previously been compared to Hitler himself. In October last year, sources told The Atlantic that Trump said, “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had. People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders.”
Meanwhile, hours after defending Trump’s wealthiest supporter, the ADL “unequivocally” condemned the newly inaugurated president for pardoning almost all individuals convicted for crimes related to the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.
“This decision undermines accountability & risks reinvigorating violent extremists and other insurrectionists,” the organization wrote, before linking to their own research on the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers—two far-right organizations who had leaders convicted for their roles in the attack.
